Ventilated roof construction



Feb. 22, 1966 M Y ETAL 3,236,170

VENTILATED ROOF CONSTRUCTION Filed NOV. 29, 1962 27 I? F IG.2 w M J l5 INVENTORS MELANCTHON H. MEYER B THOMAS L. FAWICK 6/ AT NEfi United States Patent 3,236,170 VENTILATED ROOF CONSTRUCTION Meiancthon H. Meyer, 5048 W. .lefiierson, Los Angeles 16, Calif., and Thomas L. Fawielr, Shaker Heights, Ohio Hotel Statier-Hilton, Cleveland 14, (Ohio) Fiied Nov. 29, 1962, Ser. No. 240,885 1 Claim. (Cl. 98-42) This invention relates to a ventilated roof construction.

One of the serious disadvantages of conventional roof constructions, on houses or other buildings, particularly in relatively hot climates, is the lack of an adequate and inexpensive arrangement for cooling the inside area directly beneath the roof. To a great extent the problem is caused by a lack of air circulation, either across the roof or in the inside area directly beneath the roof. Consequently, a hot mass of air tends to be trapped in this inside area beneath the roof and this tends to raise the temperature throughout the inside of the building.

The present invention is directed to a novel and advantageous roof construction which alleviates this condition by promoting the circulation of air at or directly beneath the roof.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a novel ridge cap on the roof having air passages which enable hot air to escape from the inside of the house to the outside. This promotes the circulation of air in the inside area directly beneath the roof, such as the attic of a house, thereby significantly reducting the temperature there.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a novel and improved ridge cap for a roof which promotes the ventilation of the inside area directly beneath the roof.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a presently-preferred embodiment thereof, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a ridge cap in accordance with the present invention in place on a gable roof;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken transversely of the ridge cap in FIG. 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal section taken along the line 33 in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the novel ridge cap shown therein comprises a top plate formed into an inverted V and presenting opposite flat legs 11 and 12 (FIG. 2). Attached to the bottom of the respective legs of this plate, such as by spot welding, are corrugated metal sheets 13 and 14. Desirably the top plate and the corrugated sheets are of galvanized steel.

As shown in FIG. 2, the corrugated sheet 13 extends from a location close to the lower edge of the leg 11 upward to a location spaced relatively far from the upper end of the leg 11, where it is joined to the other leg 12. The corrugated sheet 13 provides a plurality of air passages 15 (FIGS. 1 and 3) disposed in succession lengthwise of the ridge cap and each extending transverse to the length of the ridge cap. These air passages permit air to flow from beneath the legs 11 and 12 of the ridge cap to the outside.

The other corrugated sheet 14 is attached in the same fashion to the other leg 12 of the ridge cap, providing air passages 16 which permit air to flow from beneath the ridge cap to the outside.

Preferably, the ridge cap is provided with shingles of roofing material 17 laid over the top of the respective legs 11 and 12 of the top plate and overlapping one 3,236,17h Patented Feb; 22, 1966 another in succession lengthwise of the ridge cap. The roofing shingles 17 are bent at the apex of the ridge cap so that they conform to, and snugly overlie, the opposite legs 11 and 12 of the ridge cap.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show this ridge cap nailed to a conventional gable roof. This roof has a longitudinally extending ridgepiece 20 supported by rafters 21 and 22. The roof sheathing 23 and the roof shingles 24. terminate short of the ridgepiece 211 on both sides of the latter, so that lengthwise openings 25 and 26 (FIG. 2) are provided on opposite sides of the ridgepiece 20 directly beneath the ridge cap.

The ridge cap, including the top plate 11, 12, the attached corrugated metal sheets 13 and 14 is positioned overlying the roof, with the apex of the ridge cap directly over the ridgepiece 20 of the roof. The roof shingles 17 are laid over the ridge cap and then the entire ridge cap assembly is nailed to the roof proper 23, 24 by nails 27 at appropriate intervals along its length.

As shown best in FIG. 2, with the ridge cap in place, air beneath the roof can flow up through the openings 25, 26 on either side of the ridgepiece 20 and then laterally outward and downward through the air passages 15, 16 at the corrugated sheets 13, 14 of the ridge cap to the outside.

If desired, the air passages 15, 16 in the ridge cap may A ventilated ridge cap comprising a one-piece inverted V-shaped top plate having opposite flat legs which are joined to each other at the crotch of the V and which incline downward and laterally outward away from each other, a pair of corrugated sheets welded respectively to the undersides of said legs of the top plate and'each extending lengthwise of the top plate, each of said corrugated sheets extending laterally from an inside edge, which is spaced substantially outward from the crotch of the V, downward and outward to an outer edge disposed close to the bottom edge of the respective leg, each leg of the top plate completely overlying the respective corrugated sheet throughout the entire extent of the latter, each of said corrugated sheets and the respective overlying leg of the top plate defining a plurality of lateral passages disposed in succession longitudinally of the top plate for the flow of air from beneath the ridge cap laterally to the outside thereof, and roofing shingles lying flat over the top of said opposite legs of said top plate and covering the latter.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS MEYER PERLIN, Primary Examiner. ROBERT A. OLEARY, Assistant Examiner. 

